I thought we'd get at least four started this year. And I guess we have if you count Miami's maybe not so temporary digs. But Miami's other project and Nashville are looking shaky right now. But Sacramento & St. Louis look solid. Cincy, Austin, & Columbus are started already. That is five. Another expansion team, Citeh, or a Chicago/NE breakthrough could add another. But the range is likely 5-8.
If MLS can get these stadiums up before the economic slowdown, then MLS will be in great shape. This brick-and-mortar era will be ending soon and that folks it the end game for sustainability (as long as MLS stays relevant that is).
Didn't you hear? Brick and Mortar stadiums are dead, man! In the future, all of our teams will be playing in "Virtual" Stadiums with pristine grass fields and a roof over the stands so it will amplify the sound! Yeah, maybe then the Revs will get their own soccer stadium without the Patriots' lines all over the field!
This probably sounded brilliant in your head, but whatever you were trying to say did not get conveyed by your post.
Twitch viewing numbers aside, even the major eSports like LoL and Dota 2 are building their own arenas.
There was the Korean baseball team that a few years back installed robot fans: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28484536 In the future, robot fans will watch robot players, while humans will live deep underground scrounging out a meager and blighted existence while constantly attempting to avoid their ruthless robot overlords. On the plus side, during the Robot Era, the USA will have an excellent chance at finally winning a World Cup due to our previous pre-Robot Era artificial intelligence head start. We can but hope for the best.
Maing, an eSports arena back in the day was a big, old couch filled living room with a big ass tube TV, cans of beer all over the place, on a Saturday early morning, i.e. Friday night not lights out, filled with all your buddies who didn't manage to score with a hottie that night. FIFA'99 n GoldenEye soN!
Hell, even MLS is getting in. The day of the All-Star Game in Atlanta last year, I took more photos at the eMLS All-Star Challenge than I did at the game at MBS.
Forbes eSports list (these are organizations, not specific teams). This is more akin to things like Hunt Sports Group or a international organizations like Real Madrid which is more than just the men's soccer team. A bunch of these orgs have eSports teams or players in multiple games. As much as people complain about MLS values being overinflated, there is a real bubble going on in eSports, but it's likely something will survive. The problem is that most of the money invested will disappear, but in the long run, something will succeed. https://www.forbes.com/sites/christ...ompanies-in-esports-are-surging/#7045b0de324d
LOL! True! I used talk to text. Let me rephrase and still get bashed: MLS is getting their stadiums and buildings up now and will not have to in the future. This means the brick-and-mortar investment era is ending. That then will lead to potentially more spending. The economy is headed for a recession soon(every 10-15) and it is fantastic that most teams have their stadiums and permits in place before all the potential budget cuts.
Along those lines, the timing worked well for the Crew to get a deal they wouldn't have received 5 or 10 years ago. The city, county, and state were all sitting on budget surpluses which hadn't been spoken for by the usual long line of groups wanting money.
So where are the teams going to play in the future? Here in New Engerland, the Patriots' place has been around since 2002 and the mall has grown around it. It still has some years left, but at some point it will be considered "obsolete." The Pats aren't going to have as much land available to build their new place without taking up huge sections of parking, but they will have to build somewhere. And the day that new place gets built is the day the Revs play their first league home game somewhere other than Gillette.
It's easy to forget about the Revs when they have zero visibility and the ownership puts in zero effort to change that. Hopefully with Arena that will change. He already has improved things dramatically on the field and for the first time in many years, fans are actually optimistic. On the stadium front, it's a tough sell. I don't necessarily blame Kraft for not wanting to drop $300 million or more for an SSS when he already has a place for them to fill dates and drive foot traffic to the mall when the Pats aren't playing. But I do blame Kraft for not making even a quarter-assed effort to make the Revs as relevant as they can be, even if they have to play on a plastic pitch in a soul-less concrete edifice in a lifeless suburban shopping mall. Even little things like maybe have some Revs signage at their games? Then again, I had to laugh when I flipped around the TV Sunday and saw the Chargers were attempting a field goal. Behind the uprights were signs for the Galaxy having won MLS Cup and the Suppprters Shield, so it happens to bush-league NFL teams too.